Effects of hydrocortisone and aminophylline on plasma leukotriene C4 levels in patients during an asthmatic attack.
To study the role of leukotriene C4(LTC4) and the effect of hydrocortisone and aminophylline on plasma LTC4 levels in patients with asthmatic attacks, we measured LTC4 in plasma of 18 asthmatics during a wheezing attack and of 7 normal subjects. Blood samples were obtained before and after treatment with aminophylline and/or hydrocortisone injections. We extracted LTC4 using a Sep-Pak C18 cartridge for the measurement of LTC4 by radioimmunoassay. The plasma levels of immunoreactive LTC4 (i-LTC4) of the normal subjects were 142 +/- 25 pg/ml (n = 7), while those of nonatopic type asthmatic patients with wheezing attacks were 208 +/- 68 pg/ml (n = 15) (p less than 0.01). Before and after treatment with both hydrocortisone succinate (100 mg) and aminophylline (250 mg), 6 asthmatic patients with wheezing attacks had a mean plasma level of i-LTC4 181 +/- 24 and 132 +/- 18 pg/ml (p less than 0.01), respectively. On the other hand, the treatment with aminophylline 250 mg alone increased the i-LTC4 levels from 178 +/- 19 pg/mg to 213 +/- 16 pg/mg (n = 6)(p less than 0.05), while treatment with hydrocortisone succinate 100 mg decreased the i-LTC4 level 0.05 from 284 +/- 99 pg/ml to 249 +/- 85 pg/ml (n = 4)(p less than 0.05). In conclusion, the present study shows that the i-LTC4 level in venous blood of patients with asthmatic attacks is decreased significantly by treatment with hydrocortisone succinate.
Shiratsuki
N
N
Fifth Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan.
Uyama
O
O
Kitada
O
O
Suenaga
N
N
Nakamura
H
H
Sugita
M
M
Hayashi
Y
Y
Yamamoto
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000628:Aminophylline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013189:SRS-A / Q000097:blood*
D013189:SRS-A; D000628:Aminophylline; D006854:Hydrocortisone